Art of continuous distillation op petroleum oils



Nov. 9 1926. 1:,'606Q075` F. A. HOWARD ART 0F CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION OF PETROLEUM OILS Filed Sept. 1. 1921 IHIHIH'UIIII Patented Nov. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca.

FBAH A. HOWARD, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD DEVELOP- KENT COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

vART OF CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION F PETROLEUM OILS.

Application led September The present invention relates to the art of continuous distillation of crude oils and will be fully understood from the following description thereof, illustrated by the ac- 5 companying drawings, in which:

'Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a part of a'battery of stills suitable for carrying out the invention; i

v Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view l0 through a still of the-battery on line 2 of Fig1;and f Fig. 3 is a transyerse sectionalview of a still on the line 3 of Fig. 2. y

Referring more particularly to the drawl5 ings, the numeral 5 indicates a setting, fired by any suitable means, in which are mounted a plurality of lengths of. pipes or tubes 6 forming a continuous coil. The connections between these lengths of pipes are preferably formed externally of the setting as indicated at 7 and the. ends of the pipes are capped, as indicated at 8, the caps being removable for cleaning the interior of the pipes. Oil is introduced into the coil throu h asuitable valved pipe 9 by any suitab e means, for example a pump (not shown) llt is preferably introduced 1nto the portion of the coil in the lower and more highly heated portion of the setting andl in vtraveling through the coil passes upwardly through the setting. The oil passes out of the'coll` through pipe 10 and enters the upper .portion of the enlarged chamber or drum 11, which is preferably mounted in the upper and less highly heated portion of the setting. The hotcombustion gases first play about the coil Yand afterwards pass to and by their-residual heat, impart the desired temperature to the oil in the drum. The oil entersthe drum: 11 abovevthe inclined plate or baillev 12, down which it flows. This plate feeds the incoming oil onto a second inclined baiile or plate 13, and this in turn feeds'the oil upon the plate 14 from which it flows into the body of the drum. The plates 12, y13 and 14 are alternately secured to opposite ends of the drum and are inclined in opposite directions, whereby the incoming oil is forced to travel in a tortuous path before it reaches'th'e body of the drum. At its top the drum is provided with a vapor outlet pipe 15 and at its bottom with a discharge pipe 16 for removing tars or bottoms. llt is apparent that the outgoing vapors are forced by the baille plates 12, 13 and A14 to travel in ter described are so arranged that the tars l. 1921. Serial-N0. 497.529.

a tortuous ath in counter-current to -the oil before making their exit through the vapor pipe 15. Itis readily apparent that the pipe 10 and the drum 11 may, if desired,lbe lagged. `Furthermore, although three of the baiile plates 12, 13 and 14 have been illustrated, more or less than this number may be provided if desired. l yIn Fig. 1 a number of stills ofthe characor bottoms withdrawn 'from each still may be charged into the next in-the same manner as the oil is charged into the still described. Thus, the pump 17 forces the residues issuing from drum 11 into the coil pipes 6al To mounted in setting 5, and from this coil they enter drum 11V, which is substantially iden-tical in construction with drum 11. Vapors leave drum 11a through vapor line 152L and residues are discharged through the line 16a.. to be forced into the next still ot the series. If desired, a number of these stills maybe arranged in the battery, the oil being fed progressively through the battery.

The respective stills may be provided with the usual condenser equipment (not/shown), which may be arranged in the customary manner for the separation of the condensates from each still into light,-intermediate and heavy products.

An inert gaseous material, preferably steam, may be introduced into the stills m any suitable manner, for example, itmay be introduced as steam or as water into the charging pipe 9 through the valved comicotion 18, similar connections for the introduction of steam or water being provided for each still of the battery. It is likewise readilyapparent that an inert gaseous material, preferably steam may be directly introduced into the drums by the means usual in the `art for that purpose, such as perfo- `rated steam pipes 20 or the like.

ln order that the present invention may be fully understood it will be described in connection with the running of a crudeoil,A for example an oilo of the character of West Colombia crude, having a density of about 2313' Baum. In the running of this oil the 105 stills of thebattery were maintained under a vacuum of about 28 inches.

The oil is forced through the coil of the initial still at a rapid rate and enters drum 11 at a temperature of about 570 F., which no approximately 580 F. From the second` temperature is substantially maintained therein. Steam is likewise introduced, the

proportion of steam being from 8 to 10% by volume (measured as condensed water) upon the charge. Approximately 47.3% of distillate is obtained, the bottoms or residue Aforming approximately 51.6% and having a gravity of about 19.7 Baume. This-residue is forced into the second still, about 10 toV ofsteam, measured as condensed water, being supplied therein. The temperature of thejoil in the drum of the secondstill is still the total distillate recovered amounts to about` 12% of the crude treated and the` 'residue to about 38.5%, having a gravity of subjected gradually increases as it travels through the series of stills and likewise the proportion of steam added may be -'increased '1n each still. Y Y

The temperature attained by the oil in the.A

l coil is higher than the temperature of the oilin the corresponding drumg'the lowering in temperature being possibly due, at least in part, to the vaporization of the oil on entering the drum or in the pipe opening into the drum.F Thus in the Vexample given, the oil in the pipe coill of the first still attains a temperature of 600? F. or even somewhat higher, and .on enternig the drum the temperature is reduced to l57 0 F., for example,

. as stated in connection with theiirst still of the battery. This temperature ,is substantially maintained in the drum. The rate of' travel of the oil through the pipe coil should be such' as to permit the `oil to be raised to the desired temperature without permitting the deposition of carbon in the pipes or tubes. Thus, with a coil of one inch pipeabout 100 feet long, it was found advivsable to force the oil through the coil at' the rate of about 68 Vgallons per hour in the initial -still of the battery, the temperature attained in the coil being about 600 F. In case the introduction ot the steam or Water 'into the coil, as through pip'e 18, is found to impart too high a velocity to the stream of oil, the amount of steam or water 'added at this point may beV decreased and additional steam or water supplied directly within the drum. i

.The unvaporized oil entering the drum forms a pool or body of oil therein, the movement of which is' slower than that ofv the oil in the coil. The heat imparted to the ldrum is suilicient to substantially maintain the oil therein at a constant temperature while the vapors ofthe distillates are evolved therefrom, the initial heating of the oil having been effected at a rapid rate in its passage :through the coil in the more highly the heat imparted to the drum may be cor-- respondingly reduced, and in some cases it may be'unnecessary to heat thedrum. It

is readily apparentl that the drum may 'be mounted uponA a separate setting and may be independently heated, if desired..

Although in the example specifically set forth the use of sub-atmospheric pressure has been described, it is readily apparent that such use is not 4necessary to the operation of the process, which may, if desired, be carried out under atmospheric pressure. ln operating a battery of stills, the tempera? ture of treatment in the" initial still and the diiierence in temperature between successive stills may be yariedin accordancewith the characteristics'otthe oil undertreatment.

I claim: Y Y I 1. The method of distilling substantially water-free 'oil whichr comprises rapidly heating the oil to bring Ait toa temperature at Whichcertain of its components are normally vapors, discharging the oil into a chamber in which a body of the oil is maintained at a point above the level of the said body ofoil, supplying suiiicient heat to saidl chamber to su stantially maintain the attainedt-efnperature of the body of oil, causing the incoming oil to travel through a tortuous path in thel vapor space of the chamber before entering the body of oil, `causing the vaporsv evolved from. the oil to travel in counter-current, to the entering oil and'with'drawing'said vapors from the chamber. f

2. The method o't distilling substantially v which comprises rapidly water-freev oil heating'the oil to bring it to al temperature at which certain ofits constituents are normally vapors, discharging the oil into a chamber in which a body' of the `oil is maintained at a point above the level of the body of oil, supplying additional heat to"l Vthe oil in said chamber, causingithe incom- Iing oil to travel through a tortuous path in theV vapor space in the chamber before en- Y tering the body of oil, 'introducing steam into said body of cih-'causing the vapors evolved from the oil to travel in countercurrent to the entering oil and withdrawing vapors from the chamber.. W

3. The method of distilling substantially .Water-tree oil which comprises owin vthe oil inQa conned stream through a hlghly heated zone to bring it rapidly to a temperature at which certain of its componenti` are .normally vapors, introducing an inert gaseous material into the stream of oil, l

dischargin the stream of oil into a chamber in whlch a body 4of the oil is maintained at a point above the level of the 35 body of the oil maintained therein, causing body ofthe oilcausing the incoming oil to travel through a tortuous path in the vapor space ofthe chamber before entering the body'of oil, supplying'heat to the oil in said chamber, causing the vapors evolved from the oilto travel in countercurrent to the entering oil and withdrawing said vapors from the chamber.

' 4. The method of distilling substantially water-free oil which comprises continually flowing the oil in a confined stream througha highly heated zone to bring 'it rapidly to a temperature at which certain of its com-` ponents are normally vapors, introducing` an inert gaseous material into 'the stream of oil, discharging the stream of oil into an enlarged chamber above the level of the body of the oil maintained therein, causing the incoming oil to travel through'a tortuous path in the vapor space of said chamber before entering the body of oil, heating said `body of oil and supplyingadditional inert gaseous material thereto, withdrawing vapors from said chamber and withdraw-- ing oil from the body of oil therein.

5. The method of distilling substantially water-free oil which comprises continually flowing the oil in a confined stream through a `highly heated zone to bring it rapidly to a temperature at which certain of its'- components. are normally vapors, introducing an inert gaseous material into the stream of oil, discharging thel stream of oilinto an enlarged chamber above the level of the the `incoming r'oil to travel through a torber before entering the body of oil, heating said body of oil and supplying additionall i the upper portion ofthe drum,means for' withdrawing oil from the lower portion of' the drum`and means for supplying' an inert gaseous material in the lower portion of the drum.

7. In apparatus for distilling oils, a drum, a coil discharging into the upper part of the drum, means for forcing oil through the coil into the drum, means for withdrawing oil from the lower portionof the drum, means for withdrawing vapors from the upper portion of the drum, baffles arranged in the upper portion only of the drum whereby the incoming oil and the outgoing vapors are caused to travel in tuous path in the vapor space of 'said chamtort-nous paths in counter-current to .each V other and means for supplying a heating fluid first to the coil and then to the drum whereby the coil is maintained in a more highly heated zone than the drum.

' FRANK A. HOVARD. 

